What's In a Mind?
by Taws
Summary: Steve wakes up with a feeling of deja vu! Why? And what's in store for Steve?


            Hey, ya'll.  This is my first piece to be posted on the Internet, so any comments on how to improve my writing would be appreciated.  THIS IS INCOMPLETE!!! Any criticism will be taken into account as soon as I receive it.  So, enjoy the first chapter of the story code named "What's in a Mind?".

Chapter 1

_The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend._

- Henri Bergson

_The mind is a powerful thing._

- Taws (and many other people)

_Beep! Beep! Beep!  _As Steve reached over to turn off the alarm clock

_(Beep! Beep!_) 

he had a sudden feeling of déjà vu,

(_Beep! Beep! Beep!_)

but of course he did; this was his daily routine: being woken up by the alarm clock, turning over to 

(_Beep! Beep!_)

shut it off, taking a shower, getting dressed, eatting breakfast, going to work.  Simple.

(_Beep! Beep!_)

So why then did he feel this was _too_ much the same?  He didn't feel rested from last night's sleep,

(_To many dreams!_)

but couldn't think of why that would be.  He hadn't had anything out of the ordinary to eat last night,

(_Dreams?!  Ha, nightmare's more like it!_)

            and he hadn't went to bed too early, so why?

(_Beep! Beep!_)

"Oh, jeez, why won't this stupid thing turn off?" Steve fumbled around, grabbing at the alarm clock, blindly searching for the On-Off switch.  "Why does it seem like it's moved on me?"

(_Beep!._)

".Ah ha , there it is!"

_Ah, what is today?  Thursday? No, no, it's Friday; the end of the week. Finally!  This week has seemed to take sooo long.  But it's Friday!_  And with those thoughts, Steve, now more awake and ready to tackle his looong, oh-so-long 

(_Never-ending_)

day at work, shot out of bed and got himself going.  During breakfast, while reading a political article on whether or not Michael Dukakis would make a good president, his mind drifted, ever so slowly,

(_NIGHTMARES!!!!_)

to the last week's activities.  On Monday, work; Tuesday, more work; Wednesday, even more work, but a break from the normal stuff with a 

(_Boring!_)

conference on

(_What??_)

business advancement, and that night he had changed his normally lousy supper and took Amy, his

(_oh-so-hard-to-resist_)

girlfriend, out to eat at the Olive Garden; Thursday, another boring day at the office; and now today, hopefully better.  After a breakfast of Bran Flakes,

(_Cardboard shipped in a mislabeled box, and then mass-produced_)

he grabbed his cap and car keys and headed out the door.

In the car, while driving on the freeway to work, he had a momentary lapse from reality.  Even though he continued to drive perfectly safe, his eyes were not focused on the road.  In fact, they weren't even open!

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

(_"It's so dark!  My headlights don't seem to even penetrate the darkness."_

_"Hopefully we get home okay."_

_"Oh, don't worry, we will.  You see, Steve passed his driving exam!"_

_"Yeah, by what?  Two points?"_

_"No, no, guys, it was three.  Hey, Marty, what did you get on yours?"_

_"Well, see, I haven't taken mine yet, so."_

_"Haven't taken yours?  Man, you gotta take it and the class over, 'cause you didn't even get a twenty percent!"_

_"'S Not saying much for you, is it?  The teacher didn't even let you take the test, he was so sure you'd fail, so."_)

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

"Good morning, Mr. Bucham.  Not much sleep for you last night?"  The secretary was an overly-concerned Baby Boomer.

"No, not much. You have a good day,  Misses Andrews."

"You too, and get some rest tonight; we don't want you to be sleepin' on the job!"

"No, we don't.  Thanks for the concern.  See you later."  And with that he put in his best 

            (_I'm-all-yours_)

smile, and escaped.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

            After a more-boring-than-expected day, Steve was eager to go home.  Unfortunately, his boss, Mr. Mantel,

            (_That's pronounced Man-tell, mind you, Steve, not Man-tall_)

            wanted him to stay after, and work on that report on the energy efficiency of the company.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

            _Man, ten o'clock.  Well, that's_.._five times time and a half equals seven and a half hours, times fifteen_..._ Oh, man, it's to late for math.  A lot o' money, either way.  Time to go home, and get some sleep._

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

            (_"Hey, man, keep your eyes on the road.  I want a chance to retake the test, so_._"_

_            "Quite worrying, Marty; I've got it under control.  Hey, quite hogging the bottle, man, leave some for me."_)

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

            ("And in today's headlines: a local group of kids were in a car accident late last night.  All except the driver, who sustained only minor injuries, were killed.  The families of the kids who died have not yet considered pressing charges against the driver of the vehicle.  And in world news, twenty-eight U.S. soldiers were killed in a surprise attack near Vihn, Vietnam,...)


End file.
